


The Long Road Home

by the_impatient_panda



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/F, F/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25578478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_impatient_panda/pseuds/the_impatient_panda
Summary: In which Admiral Janeway has some words for her younger self that she knows she isn't ready to hear yet, but says regardless. It takes awhile but eventually...she finds her way home.WARNING: INCOMPLETE Severely so. This is six pages of a few sections of skeleton dialogue, several notes and that's it. Sorry not sorry. Love or hate at your own risk.
Relationships: Chakotay/Seven of Nine, Kathryn Janeway/Seven of Nine
Kudos: 6





	The Long Road Home

Kathryn could still remember it like yesterday.

The Admiral, with her mostly white hair and lined face, staring back at her determinedly as she said the words that had brought Kathryn Janeway’s world to a screeching halt. 

“Seven is going to die.”

Later, in a brief moment of quiet before their final gambit against the Borg Queen, The Admiral had added, “They’re going to ask you to perform the ceremony.”

“Are they?” Kathryn had replied, voice distant.

“She’s going to be beautiful. And it’s going to hurt every bit as much as you deserve for letting her slip through your fingers.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Not yet, but you will.” The Admiral had taken a swallow of her coffee thoughtfully. “Even so, she’ll be alive. That will be enough. Promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“That you’ll take her to the farm. I never got the chance.”

“I will.”

It was the keeping of that promise that had led Kathryn to admit that her older self had perhaps been right. 

After three grueling months of debriefing and parades and speeches and awards and promotions, the crew of Voyager had finally been allowed their month of leave. Kathryn had made the offer, in passing, to Seven to come and see the farm as she had promised all those years ago. To her surprise, the ex-Borg had accepted. 

It had been an exceptionally good week. Gretchen Janeway had welcomed the tall blonde with open arms, and Phoebe surprisingly attentive. Seven was introduced to the animals her mother still kept around, and helped out with the usual chores that kept the place running. She’d milked her first cow and rode her first horse. Helped feed the chickens and collect the eggs. Pulled weeds in the garden. She’d smiled in that quiet way that made Kathryn’s heart skip a beat to see her Captain up to her elbows in loam as she helped her mother transplant the tomato vines.

“I’m still surprised you decided to come,” Kathryn admitted one evening as they sat on the swing on the front porch and sipped her mother’s homemade iced tea. “You had offers to go just about anywhere in the world.”

“Yes,” Seven agreed quietly. “But only a few of them had people I wanted to spend time with.”

“You’re going to see Tom and B’Ellana next, right?”

“And Miral. Then a few days to see Naomi and her parents. After that I am planning on meeting Chakotay on the Reservation for the final two weeks.”

“I’m sure his family will be delighted to meet you.”

“I am looking forward to meeting them as well.”

“Don’t you have an Aunt that you were in contact with?”

“Yes.” Hesitating.

“Seven?”

“I was actually going to request that you accompany me tomorrow to go and visit her. She happens to only live an hour away, and has arranged for most of her family to be in attendance. I do not wish to face them alone.”

“You couldn’t convince Chakotay to face them down with you?” Teasing.

“I did not tell him. I wanted to meet them without a romantic partner to complicate things. I do not know how they feel about...anything. Except that they are grateful to you for saving me. For severing me from the collective and helping me regain my humanity. Thus, bringing you for support seemed the safest option.”

“I’ll be honored to go as your support.” Gently.

“Thank you, Captain. I mean Admiral.”

“Should I start calling you Professor Hansen then?” A ‘Seven’ look. “Then stop using my rank. I’m not your Captain or your Admiral. You can call me Kathryn, god knows you’ve earned it.”

“Yes...Kathryn.” That smile again. She’d had to look away before she had blushed. Idiot. 

Meeting Seven’s Aunt and her sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters had been overwhelming, but in a good way. They had welcomed Seven and her friend with open arms, and Kathryn had soon found herself seated on a couch looking through pictures of an infant Annika Hansen with the Aunt on one side and a cousin on the other.

Seven, much to everyone’s surprise, found herself among the children. Kathryn frequenting had to remind herself not to stare at how well the young woman handled the young one’s natural inquisitiveness about her implants and what they meant. Her years with Naomi and Icheb and the other Borg children had certainly prepared her well, and that had impressed them even more.

Saying goodbye that evening at the transport hub in the city had been hard. Harder than she’d anticipated. She’d hugged her visitor, hiding her tears behind her Captain’s mask, and wished her a safe journey. They would see each other soon, in San Francisco. Only a few weeks.

Watching her fade into ether and light on the platform, it felt like an eternity. 

Time, though, slipped past on stockinged feet and before she knew it Admiral Janeway was settling into her new office at Starfleet Headquarters. Kathryn had an apartment close to work, and on nice days she could even walk the distance if she wanted to stretch her feet. 

\- Dinner with Seven and Chakotay becoming a weekly occurrence. They’re both professors at the Academy. Tom and B’Ellana sign on to the same crew as Harry, a much larger ship that also accommodates families. Tuvock retires to be with his family. Naomi and her mother leave to join her father. Icheb joins the Academy. 

-Kathryn watches as Seven and Chakotay seem to fall in love, and finally wed. As promised, she is asked to do the ceremony. 

“Admiral?”

Kathryn came back to herself, looking over at B’Ellana who stood on Chakotay’s side. The Doctor stood on Seven’s. The crowd had settled in their seats in the small park, and the musicians in the back shifted tone as the bride appeared to walk down the aisle. 

Seven was lovely. A vision in white and lace with her golden hair tumbling down her back and lilies loosely clasped in one hand. 

Her future self had been right. She was beautiful. And it hurt every bit as much as she deserved for not finding a way to make it work. Of course, she’d gone over it a hundred times in her mind. Codes. Ethics. Laws. For every excuse she came up with, something had sprung up to bar her path. 

And so here she was, marrying the woman she loved to a man she respected too much to intentionally hurt, and she really only had herself to blame. 

They both smiled at her, their hands joined together, and she smiled back. It wasn’t hard. She loved them both, if in different ways. He was her friend. She was...more. So much more. But it was love just the same. 

If the tear she wiped away at the end was from the pain instead of the joy, no one had to know but her. 

Afterwards, she chatted with old friends and carefully sipped at the wine that had been provided with their meal. She exclaimed with the others over how big Naomi and Miral had gotten. She congratulated Icheb on his early graduation from the Academy, and his decision to re-enroll for officer training. She danced with Harry and Tom and the Doctor and finally Chakotay, because it would be rude not to. 

And finally, when it was late and her body was reminding her she had an important meeting at 0800 the next morning, she tried to quietly slip away.

“Would you really leave without saying goodbye?”

Kathryn turned, and found Seven watching her from the edge of the party.

“I honestly thought you would be too busy celebrating to notice,” the Admiral had replied with a tired smile. “And I didn’t want to break up the party. You know how it is, one person leaves and then everyone else starts to drift away.”

“Those are excuses,” Seven had replied, gentler than before but still with her usual forthrightness. “And thin ones at best. You just do not like saying goodbye.”

“I never have,” Kathryn admitted with a shrug. “So shoot me.”

“Never.” 

-Kathryn wishes her the best, and they say goodbye

-090-

-When Chakotay and Seven return from their honeymoon (a full month away) everything settles into a ‘normal’ routine. Kathryn still sees them for dinner once a week, and she generally goes home for holidays. 

-After two years, Chakotay is offered the opportunity to participate in an archeological dig. He jumps at the chance to go, assuming Seven will want to go with him. She doesn’t. She’s heavily involved in her teaching, and her laboratory work at the University. Kathryn gets pulled into it on accident, and she sides with Seven. He sees reason, and promises to return to visit every other week. After a few months, it becomes once a month. Then once every other month. Kathryn still comes for her weekly visits, and invites Seven to spend the holiday with her and her family when it becomes clear that Chakotay won’t be back for Christmas or New Years. Seven goes with her. Kathryn has a dog by now, a mixed mutt she got from a rescue clinic, that goes with her everywhere. While there, Seven quietly discloses that she’s pregnant with Chakotay’s child. Kathryn congratulates her, and asks if Chakotay knows yet, he doesn’t. Seven was waiting to tell him when he got home. Kathryn convinces her to call Chakotay and tell him for Christmas, to make it seem like she kept it to herself on purpose. 

-The pregnancy changes everything. Chakotay comes ‘home’, and settles back into teaching. For the first two years, everything seems to be fine. A little girl is born, and Seven names her after her mother (look up her name). Chakotay eventually gets another archeological opportunity, same promise as before. Same problem as before. Every other week, then once a month, then every other month. When he does come home, Seven is annoyed with how long it’s been since he’s been around. Etc etc. Kathryn is very attached to the little girl, and Chakotay gets angry when he realizes she’s more attached to Kathryn than him. Seven points out that she at least sees Kathryn once a week, sometimes more. She may go two months without seeing her father. What’s the child supposed to think?

-It doesn’t end well. Seven and the toddler pack up and leave, and Kathryn offers to let them stay with her while she sorts things out. Seven still has her teaching position, so everything should be fine on that end. It’s just finding a new place to live that matters now. 

-A year later, Seven is still there and Kathryn is in no hurry to push her out the door. She helps with the bills, cooks delicious food most nights, and her daughter is a treasure. When Chakotay’s in town he stays somewhere else, but comes to visit most evenings. Everyone is on civil terms. 

-Icheb is a frequent visitor, and spends a few holidays with them in Indiana. 

“Kathryn, I want to apologize.” Chakotay.

“Whatever for?”

“Seven still staying with you. I’ve offered to help her and _____ move more than once if she doesn’t have the money, but she insists she isn’t moving until she finds the right place.”

“She’s fine, Chakotay. They both are. I love having them around, and they aren’t in the way in the least, so stop worrying. Besides, if I have to go back to subsisting off of my horrible replicator cooking skills I’ll probably starve to death in a week.”

“She does know her way around a kitchen.”

“And Erin is one of the best behaved children I’ve ever known. You should be very proud.”

“I am. So you’re sure...?”

“It’s fine. It wouldn’t bother me in the least if they never left.”

“You’re a good friend, Kathryn. To all of us.”

“I try.”

-The final catalyst: Seven starting to date someone else. It forces Kathryn to finally be honest about her own feelings. She is surprised at how strongly Seven reciprocates. OR should Seven finally realize her feelings on her own, and begin a lengthy seduction? Dinners together becoming dates. Initiating physical contact. Etc. Eventually cornering the very stubborn Admiral. This would be funnier with Tom and B’Ellana around. Back from their one year space tour, and settled at Starfleet working on a new sort of engine? She’s the lead engineer and he’s the test polite? This would also mean Miral and Seven’s daughter get close. And that Tom and B’Ellana see a lot of the interaction before it becomes obvious. Hmmmm....


End file.
